The Power Keeper: The Crystalline Guardian - Book Two: Ruby
by The Power Keeper
Summary: As Sapphire is awakened from her magical coma, she is visited by a strange Equestrian from the future, warning her of what is to come. As she recovers, she tries to return to normal life, despite what her dreams had showed her and the Equestrian's warning. Join Sapphire as she assists Starswirl with his latest project and greatest discovery in Equestrian history: a whole new world!
1. Revolutionary Journey

-Chapter I- Revolutionary Journey

-The Revolution Base, Skyrim

-December 14, 2012

-7:00 A.M.

-Twilight

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Nick asked as he and Twilight walked across the halls of the Revolution Base. "I mean, traveling across time is kind of a...dangerous sorta thing, isn't it?"

"Well, it _can_ be," she replied coolly to the human walking alongside her, "but with Princess Celestia's magic, I should be able to reach some point in time when Sapphire lived, and we could learn why Dusk Shine is out to kill you."

"What significance does Princess Celestia's magic have?" he asked curiously. They turned the corner to pass by Cloud, the muscular, blond, powerful warrior of Midgar, and Link, the quick, intelligent, lithe hero of Hyrule.

"Hey Nick," Link said with a wave of his hand, his green tunic rippling over his movement as he took his attention away from the conversation he and Cloud were having.

"Hey guys," Nick quickly replied. "But seriously," he said, turning back to the purple alicorn.

"Princess Celestia revolutionized magic by using science to conduct spells," she explained, "I will alter the Lifestream and move the timeline around me, sending me either forward or backwards in time."

"That sounds kinda familiar, actually," he stopped suddenly, holding his hand to his chin. "Wait, won't that, like, completely sap your magic?"

"No, not really. I just need to make sure I'm careful about when I choose to emerge from the Lifestream. Plus, I need to use a sort of magic safety cushion."

"You sure you won't run out of magic while doing this...time traveling thing?" Nick asked.

"Nick, I'll be fine!" she said sternly, stopping and turning to face him, her purple-eyed gaze meeting his unusually bright-blue eyes behind a few stray brown hairs, "quit worrying about me, I'm a princess!" she reassured him.

"I don't exactly see how that'll help anything," he retorted with doubtful look.

"I say let's go for it," Saria said as she walked up from behind the two, her bright-orange hair thrown over her shoulder. "I mean, maybe finding out what happened between Sapphire and Dusk Shine will shed some light on what's going on, and we could find a way to either reverse it or find a way to find a peaceful solution to this all," she explained, placing her hands on her toxophilite's belt.

"She's nearly killed me two or three times, reawakened King Binary, used the Alicorn Amulet to nearly destroy Twilight, and is probably still got plenty of other tricks up her pony sleeve to kill me, and, in extension, Sapphire!" Nick retorted with a flare of anger as he tightened his fists. "I don't want to lose someone because of her!"

"Which is exactly why we are trying to get rid of at least one threat," Twilight explained.

"I still say it's way too dangerous for you to go."

"Oh, please," Saria said as she rolled her deep-blue eyes irritably, "she'll be fine."

"What's with you?" Nick asked.

"Nothing," she stated firmly, "Now come on, let's do this," she pushed aside Twilight and walked even faster forward.

"What _is_ with her?" Twilight asked irritably before sighing, "all right, let's get this over with."

"Are you ready, Twilight?" Tails, the youthful, yellow fox asked as he pressed some keys on his control panel in the Revolution's R&D Research Lab.

"As ready as I'll ever be, I guess," she replied with a simple shrug.

"Okay," he flew down to her from his panel using his two tails to recalibrate the large machine that surrounded her, "now, this machine with create a field that will remain on until you return, which _should_ be like a second or two for us."

"I take it the field is to keep me tethered to the present as I wander around the past?"

"Exactly," he said with a reassuring smile, "so that way if you _do_ run out of magic by traveling to the past, we can still pull you back."

"I still think I should go instead," Nick debated from the other side of the room with Saria at his side. "Maybe I can do something? After all, we're both Power Keepers, right?"

"Nick, you can't use magic at all, what makes you think you can pull _this_ off?" Tails asked as he flew back up to his control panel.

"Maybe _I_ can't, but _Sapphire_ can."

"You're not using the Dark Guardian, especially with what happened with Wilfre," Saria scolded.

Nick rolled his eyes before giving his response, "fine...although Wilfre is kind of corrupt, while Sapphire was supposed to be all pure and whatnot,"

" _Supposed_ to be," Twilight reminded him. "We're not exactly sure _what_ she was like."

Nick looked down at his feet and crossed his arms without another word.

"All right, ready?" Tails called down to the alicorn.

"Wait," Saria said just before Twilight could respond. She walked up to Twilight with a regretful expression. "I'm sorry," she whispered.

Twilight smiled, seeing that her friend was still herself after all. "It's all right, I just want to know what's going on."

"I'll tell you later. But, um...good luck," she said with a reassuring smile.

Twilight returned the smile happily, "thank you, Saria." she waited for Saria to return to a safe distance before looking back up to Tails, awaiting patiently for her word. "Ready when you are," Twilight called.

The last thing Twilight saw before the world around her evaporated from existence around her was Tails pulling down a large lever that connected his panel to the machine. A loud roaring sound resounded all about the room before a large spark flew across the cables and a bright light flashed before her eyes. When she opened her eyes, she found herself in a small, unfurnished room with nothing but a small bed and a bright-blue Crystal Pony before her, startled as she sat up from the bed and stared at her with large, fearful eyes.


	2. Reawakening

-Chapter II- Reawakening

-Canterlot, Equestria

-1st of May, 1008 A.D.

-8:45 A.M.

-Sapphire

 ***Book Two: Ruby***

I sat unmoving, without the energy to even blink or look away from the disastrous events playing out before me, just as they had been repeatedly for what felt like an eternity. It was the same story, again and again. Nightingale, lost in a world of confusion and corruption, being rescued by her love, Malefore, before he, too, became corrupted and, unaware of his own actions, destroyed their home in a bout of intense fire, fueled by an uncontrollable rage, before he destroyed their dragon eggs. Ending with the murder of his beloved, without knowledge of it himself, and no control.

I felt as though I knew him, and I loved him, too. I felt deep within my heart that it wasn't his fault, and though I watched the destruction of Nightingale's entire life, I wanted to scream and stop him, and I wanted to hate him...but I couldn't. If I would even try, if I _could_ try, I still found myself staring at him with the feeling of love towards him, just as I held for my friends. Though I didn't have the energy, like a stallion after a long day's work with not even the energy to keep his eyes open any longer and the desire to fall to the ground there and sleep, I still felt myself determined to remain as vigilant as I could, though I had watched the tormenting scene countless times. What could the source of all of this corruption be? Was Nightingale trying to tell me something?

Just as Malefore was about to end Nightingale, just as I had seen from her perspective numerous times, at last a difference in the cycle seemed to occur. Distant, yet still very prominent. A loud booming sound resounded through the air from beyond the swamp, over the looming trees and across thousands of miles away, it seemed. Desire burned through my veins and I felt energy surging through my limbs again, and though I still felt relatively weakened, I still forced myself up, standing again, and the memories around me began to dissolve. I galloped as hard as my body would allow, and eventually the world around me gradually became brighter and brighter, and soon I felt as though the pure, untouched whiteness of the surrounding world would permanently burn into my sight.

It was then I awoke.

My eyes shot open, glad to be freed of the blinding light and the vicious memories in their entirety. My breathing was hardened, and my I felt the beating of my heart in my throat. Sweat poured from my forehead, and I watched as an occasional drop was caught in my mane. As fear-stricken as I was from the ferocious dreams, I was glad to again see my own mane, my own hooves, rather than seeing dragon claws and teeth, and my own energy flowing through my body. I swallowed hard before looking about the room, _my_ room, still lacking furnishings of any sort, but I was grateful to Celestia to again be back in my own home.

I stopped suddenly when I saw another Equestrian in there, purple coat and a darker violet mane with a single stripe of pink running down her mane, watching me in surprise. I opened my mouth to speak, but no words came out as I watched her in wonder just as she did me. "Uh..." she almost seemed to drop the sound from between her lips. "Uhhh hi," she stammered.

"H-hi?" I replied uneasily. I then realized there was a strange field of magic flowing around her, like the unicorn had just used a powerful spell. _Was this what awoke me?_ "Who are you?" I asked quickly without thought.

She cleared her throat before speaking, "I am Twilight Sparkle," she said, her voice breaking as she allowed the words to tumble from her mouth. She placed a hoof on her chest, "I'm to to warn you!"

"Warn me? Of what?"

"Dusk Shine!" she quietly exclaimed, "she-"

I jumped back as her wings unfolded. At first I had only assumed that she was a unicorn, because all that I could see was her purple horn, but as she began to speak again, her wings spread out, and I may have screamed a small bit, causing her to stop in mid-sentence. "Wh-what are you?"

"I am Princess Twilight Sparkle," she explained quickly, "I am here from the future."

"Sapphire?!" I heard Faith's voice call out in surprise from the other room.

"Faith?" I called back.

Immediately we heard Faith's tiny clawed feet bounding through the hallway before she appeared in the doorway, arms spread out and joy sparkling in her eyes. "Sapphire!" she cried out before jumping into the air. Her weight tossed me back a hoofstep or two, and I countered by standing on my hind legs, still somewhat weak, and spun about in a circle.

"What's wrong, Faith? You act like you haven't seen me in a lifetime!" I asked in surprise.

"Not in a month!" she exclaimed happily, jumping into the air.

"A-a month?"

"Well, a month and two days, really," she said, the joy vanishing from her eyes and filled with sadness.

"What happened?"

"You exceeded your magical limit, according to Princess Celestia," the messenger dragon explained, "you were drained of so much energy, you were sent into a deep sleep," the joy quickly returned to her face, "but you're awake again! Also, what happened?"

"What?"

"I heard you scream."

"Oh, well, I-" I stopped abruptly as I turned to where Twilight had just been standing, but she was gone. "I...I guess I was just shocked to be awake," I lied.

"Well, for as long as you were out, I should think so," she said excitedly. "Oh my gosh," she said suddenly, "Dusk Shine!"

"Dusk Shine?"

"Yeah! She's going to be _so_ excited to see you're awake again! She's been staying at the castle for the past two weeks, hoping to give you as much rest as possible. She came in every day to see you around noon, but she was worried that she was disturbing you. Come on, we need to see her!"

"Well, you go on ahead, I'm...still just a bit exhausted, I'll catch up with you."

"Oh, all right! I'll be right back!" she said over her shoulder as she began to run out the room, but stopped suddenly to come back to me to give me another hug, "I'm glad you're back," she whispered, before backing away with the happiest smile before running out of the room. A second later, the door to the house was shut as well.

I waited a moment or two after Faith had left before looking around the room again, "hello?" I asked, awaiting a response.

"Sorry." I nearly jumped out of my own coat when I heard her voice from behind me. I quickly turned to see Twilight standing before me again.

"Wh–how?"

"I used a spell Princess Celestia taught me." she explained.

"Princess Celestia?"

She nodded, "you see, she taught me a spell that allowed me to become invisible, and undetectable by magic, reflecting light particles."

"Using...light particles...?" I asked, dumbfounded.

"To use magic through science."

"No, that's _my_ magic," I objected.

"I'm from the future, I think I should know who had created it," she retorted, beginning to become annoyed.

"But _I_ created that spell! I had just used it with Dusk Shine when we were sparring with Starswirl last..." I trailed off, realizing that "week" was no longer the case.

"I got here by using Princess Celestia's method for time travel."

"Forcing the timeline to travel around you?" I asked.

She looked at me, now seemingly unsure of herself. "...yes?"

"It actually worked?"

"Uh...yes?"

I galloped up to her, "how?" I asked desperately. "I've tried that spell countless times!"

"I just altered Starswirl the Bearded's spell!" Twilight explained quickly, "I used the Lifestream!"

"Life...stream?" I managed to say. I never knew of Starswirl's spell to traverse time, nor could I understand what the second portion of what she had called him. 'The Bearded'?

"It doesn't matter!" she said as I quieted down to ponder her words. "You must stop Dusk Shine!"

"Dusk Shine? What are you talking about?"

"One-thousand years into the future, _my_ time, she is a ruthless killer!"

"Dusk Shine? Killer?" I asked, taken aback by her accusation, "I don't think you quite know what you're saying."

She gave me an irritated look before giving me a curt nod, "believe me, I do."

I turned away from the intruder, shaking my head. "No, you really don't. I've known Dusk Shine for years. She'd hardly touch a parasprite, let alone an Equestrian. And besides!" I exclaimed as he quickly turned to her accusingly, "how'd Dusk Shine even _live_ one-thousand years?" I asked, "You must be delusional."

"I am not!" she objected fiercely.

"You are! And I will not stand here and listen to the ramblings of a mad-mare," I retorted, beginning to walk out of the doorway from my room.

"I know your next life." I stopped when she said these words. I turned around, my curiosity overwhelming me. "Of the cycle of the Power Keeper."

"That's...what?" I stammered.

"Nicholas. Nicholas Swiftsword the Fifth," she explained. "Dusk Shine is out to get him and his friends, me included, in _my_ time. I'll...I'll prove I'm from the future!"

"How?" I asked, more confusion in my voice than harshness.

"Has the mirror been created yet?"

"Mirror?"

"That travels to the other dimension."

I shook my head, "I don't quite understand."

A look of realization came to her face. "What year is it?"

"Year? Uh, 1008, A.D."

"So Nightmare Moon hasn't been sealed in the moon yet..."

"Nightmare Moon? What are you, completely insane? I don't even know what you're talking about!"

"In the year 1012, I believe," she began, "Princess Luna is corrupted."

"By whom?" I asked with a lifted eyebrow.

"I'm not sure. But, if the tale is true, she was banished because of her will to take over the night! I saw the fight between her and Princess Celestia myself!"

"How!?" I asked, becoming even angrier at what she claims to have seen and know.

"A vision. I drank some potion, allowing me to also see Discord being trapped in the stone, and Princesses Celestia and Luna taking the Elements of Harmony from the Tree of Harmony!"

I stopped suddenly, my mind drawn a blank. "Discord...in stone?" She nodded confidently, but I shook my head in objection. "Dusk Shine and I were the ones to fight Discord. He was never encased in stone."

"So it's already happened, then..." she looked down at the ground thoughtfully before jerking her gaze towards me suddenly. "When you leave here," she said, "talk to Princess Celestia. Ask her what became of Discord."

"I...I don't-"

"Just do it! And if I'm right, promise me that you'll see to Dusk Shine."

"I-I promise, I guess."

She looked at me, confident in her words, and gave me a sure nod before her horn began to glow with a deep purple before the same colour consumed her eyes until her irises were no longer visible in the bright light. A few sparks flew about the room, those that stayed in existence long enough, revolved around her before dying out. With another blinding flash of light and surge of magical energy, she was gone.

I looked to where she was, expecting her to reappear, but she did not. I slowly, cautiously, trotted to where she stood, and felt around with my hoof, knowing magic would be of no use if she were using my spell again. She was really no longer in the room, and that was surely too much energy built up to teleport, normally, that is. I swallowed hard as the realization that her words of Dusk Shine may, in fact, be true after all, and Discord's final words echoed again through my mind.

 _Your...'friendship' will be your downfall. Mark my words, Sapphire. It. Will. End. You._


	3. Indecision

-Chapter III- Indecision

-Canterlot, Equestria

-1st of May, 1008 A.D.

-9:00 A.M.

-Starswirl

"Starswirl, sir, is this the part you need?"

"Yes, Doctor, thank you very much." the magician replied as he took the wrench from between the Doctor's teeth with his magic.

"How long do you think this may take?" he asked as he trotted towards him from his tool bench. He took another wrench from the bench as he spoke again, "I mean, how rong are you wirring to ut into this prohek?" he tried to say around the tool.

"Well, I'm willing to put in as long as needed, but you may resign from the project any time you wish," he said as he looked over the prints again. "Why, do you not think this will work?"

"Well, I certainly have my doubts, but I do believe you know what you are doing," he replied coolly.

"That I do, Doc. However this method I am beginning to doubt. Perhaps the concept of 'magic working through science' doesn't apply everywhere, eh?"

"Perhaps so, perhaps not," another voice came from the entrance to the Doctor's shop. "Hello, Doctor Whooves, Starswirl," she nodded to each of them as she greeted them.

The Doctor bowed his head, "Queen Celestia."

"Please," she replied almost immediately to the colourless, grey stallion with the black mane, "just call me Celestia. Or Princess, if you wish."

"Yes, Princess."

"I take it your meeting with the Emperor of Cyrodiil hadn't gone as well as you had hoped?" Starswirl asked as a shower of sparks flew from his horn as he welded two pieces of magically enhanced metal together.

"Those humans, I swear," she replied with a nod of agreement before looking over at the Doctor, who looked at the two with a suspicious smile, "Doctor, what you hear is strictly to be kept within this room," she said calmly with a sure smile. It wasn't uncommon for Starswirl and Celestia to speak in the presence of his assistant, who hasn't been given much work for the past few years, what with his work with Sapphire, save for the constant visits that he and Sapphire constantly made to the royal city, they rarely worked together, so this must've been a project delayed for far too long. She looked curiously over their work, seeing all of the pieces of magically-reinforced metal formed into the shape of a circle that reached high up as it arched around on top. "What are you two doing in here, anyway?"

"Right now, it's a surprise," Starswirl said quickly before the Doctor could say a word. "But I'm sure you'll enjoy the idea once its complete!"

Celestia gave him an impatient look before turning her head and looking up at where Doctor Whooves stood as he tightened a bolt on the machine with a wrench that he forced around the bolt with his teeth. "Doctor, what is it?"

He stopped what he was doing abruptly and turned to look back at her, obviously unsure of what to say. He glanced over to Starswirl for permission as to whether he could say or not, then turned back to Celestia. Starswirl rolled his eyes with an amused smile, "Go ahead," he told him, "you can tell her."

He gave a small chuckle as a smile graced his lips, "It is a, uh, magically-enhanced, inter-dimensional, stellar gateway to another forme of existence."

Celestia's smile quickly disappeared as she quickly jerked her gaze back to Starswirl, "A dimensional portal?" she asked, suddenly dead-serious. "Starswirl, you know what that will do to you if you were to travel through that thing! The Omniverse will tear you apart within seconds – nay, _milliseconds!_ "

"Sapphire was able to travel through the Omniverse, why shouldn't I?" he retorted swiftly with a calm tone as he continued to weld his seam.

"First off, Sapphire and her friends were _brought_ there by Discord!" she scolded, "Secondly, Sapphire is the _Power Keeper!_ She has the abilities of an Omniversal!"

"Then perhaps we should have _her_ travel through then!" he shot back, becoming more angry than serious, as Celestia was. "Perhaps that'll awake her from her enchanted slumber, would you rather have that?"

"Of course I wouldn't!" she objected, "You of all Equestrians should know that better than anyone! Even if there were even the _slightest_ chance of what you say of her awaking, we're not taking it."

"But why not? Just imagine, she could be awake in _hours_ rather than months! Any unicorn could easily surpass their limits, and we'd be able to travel through the Omniverse! Other dimensions, Tia!"

"Is this why you've built this thing?" she asked accusingly, raising her voice, "To try to wake her from her coma? What if she's hurt?"

"But what if she's not?" Starswirl objected, taking a hoofstep towards her. "What if she's back to being herself once again, happy, innocent...Sapphire..."

"No."

"But why-?"

"Because she's not a guinea pig, Starswirl! She's not just some experiment that is completely disposable!"

"I understand that, but the Power Keeper-"

"The Power Keeper has nothing to do with this! That makes her no different from any other Equestrian. She lives, she breathes, she loves, she _feels!_ There is no way I will allow a fifteen-year-old mare being put through what could be suicide without even realizing it!"

"Celestia, it's been seven years!"

"Not for her it hasn't!"

"Six years, Tia, six years! Just because you both-! You need not nurture her any longer, Celestia! It's not healthy for either of the two of you!"

"I've given you my answer," she said, lowering her voice again. "Sapphire Streak is not taking a single hoofstep through that portal."

Starswirl opened his mouth, as if to argue the point further, but he saw that there was no reasoning with her, and quickly dropped the idea. He turned away from her and used his magic to tear off the welder's helmet and solder and stood silently as they clattered to the floor. They stood in silence for a moment or two before he spoke again, "As you wish, _Princess_."

Celestia took a step away from him as he spat out the word, and, feeling her hooves become stiff and tears welling up in her eyes, she quickly turned away from him and began to leave, both of them completely forgetting the Doctor's presence. As she neared the door, Starswirl spoke again, calling out to her now, "You can't let those fools from Cyrodiil control you, Tia."

She stopped where she was, thinking of how to respond. She knew this, she knew it should stop, but she couldn't. She couldn't for the good of her land. Her kind. They all were her responsibility, and if something were to happen to them because of her mistakes... "I know that, Starswirl," she said, desperately trying to keep her words from quivering or faltering. "I just..."

"What happened hundreds of years ago when Tamriel sent their Necromancers..." he trailed off for a moment before deciding what to say, "The Everfree Forest and what happened to your castle was not your fault."

"Then who's was it then?" she demanded, "I was the one to defy them, and Luna nearly had to pay the price for _my_ sins! We are at the brink of war with the Crystal Empire _and_ Chief Earthenhooves and the Native Equestrians. I can _not_ allow us to be at war with Cyrodiil, too!"

Starswirl studied her from where he stood, looking over her frail soul. And his voice softened as he spoke again, "You are not your father, Tia. He was the cause and you know it. You are not King Gaia."

"You're right," she quietly said back, just loud enough for him to hear before stepping back out the door, "I am not nearly as noble."


	4. Reunion

-Chapter IV- Reunion

-Canterlot, Equestria

-1st of May, 1008 A.D.

-9:20 A.M.

-Sapphire

As I trotted through the courtyard of the royal castle, I looked over the neatly cut hedges and shrubs that were placed neatly and orderly. I liked them, especially how well they were perfectly aligned, but as I continued, I could've sworn that there was one that looked awfully familiar...

"Sapphire!" I heard as soon as I entered the castle. It was Faith, and though I couldn't see her from wherever it was that she called from, I could hear the prominent excitement in her voice.

"Faith?" I called back quizzically.

I heard a gasp of excitement by a second voice, followed by a series of heavy hoofsteps as I heard someone galloping, and I had an idea who. I waited a moment or two as the hoofsteps gradually grew louder, and not a minute later, sure enough Dusk Shine, my nearest and dearest friend, appeared around the corner with eyes wide with astonishment and disbelief. A smile slowly crept across her face, and I felt that if it weren't for what Faith had told her, I'd only be an illusion to her. She took an uncertain step towards me, and I noticed teardrops dripping onto the parched stone floor after running down her wet cheeks, flowing from tear-stained eyes. "S...Sapphire..." she said in awe, the disbelief clinging to her voice with each word she uttered. She jumped towards me, landing before me and before I could react, she stood on her hind legs and wrapped her two front hooves around me, pushing me back a bit, but I stood firm.

I tried to speak, but the overwhelming emotions running through my mind clouded my mind and obstructed any speech. She began to cry again, sobbing heavily as she clutched me firmly. Feeling her tears as they drenched my coat made me realize it was foolish of me to even think of believing that other mare. _Princess Twilight Sparkle of the future indeed..._ I thought regretfully, _what a foolish concept, and how foolish I am to even think of the possibility._ I pressed my muzzle into her mane as she continued, and I felt a soft, warm stream of tears running from my eyes as well. I tried to blink them away as I saw the blurred forme of Faith standing before us. Though I couldn't see much of her other than her bright, shining scales, I could feel her smiling as she looked up at us together.

"So, Sapphire," Starswirl asked curiously as he examined me with a hardened stare, "what did you see?" he asked with honest concern, "In your...state..."

I opened my mouth to speak, but as Nightingale's demise at the claws of her own love flashed before me, I instantly stopped, "I..." I began, "I don't really remember, exactly..."

"Anything? Anything at all?" he asked again, edging his way to me from his seat. I watched the whiskers on his unshaven chin as he spoke, realizing that he seemed unkempt "Please, Sapphire, anything that may help me understand your inner workings?"

"I don't..." I stammered, unsure of what he meant.

"Sapphire," Celestia asked softly, "You don't have to answer if you don't feel comfortable doing so." I nodded to her in acknowledgment and gradually turning my head back to Starswirl, who looked at me with concern.

"Are you feeling all right, Sapphire? You seem pale..." he said as he got up from where he sat on the floor, trotting towards me cautiously. I tried desperately to blink away my fear, harden my expression and stiffen my quivering lip as he neared me.

Celestia got up as well, concern across her face as well. "Sapphire it's okay, you don't have to tell us, it's all right..." she said comfortingly as I began to tear up again, the dark memories returning to me again. I tried desperately to shove the fear and sadness back into the depths of my brain. I saw her exchange a glance with Starswirl and before either of them could say anything, another Equestrian walked into the room. An Earthen Equestrian lacking of any colour. "Doctor it's really not a good time right now," Celestia said quickly, looking from him back to me. I could feel myself shaking as they spoke.

I felt embarrassed as he looked me over for a second, but thankfully he focused his attention back to Starswirl. "It's the machine, it's-"

"Now is _really_ not a good time, Doc."

"Are you still building that thing, Starswirl?" Celestia asked angrily.

"Tia enough I'm not hearing it and this isn't the time or place," he demanded. He looked down at me as I looked back at him, and I could feel another wave coming again. "Come, Sapphire," he said softly, "you should rest, after all, you really shouldn't be too active or excited after a magical coma."

"I..." I stammered between gasps for air, "I'm not tired...I just...I j-just..." but no matter how hard I tried I just couldn't get anymore words out than that before I began to shake fearfully and sob heavily.

When I awoke I found myself in Celestia's bedroom, lying out in her bed. The air was still with silence, other than the birds of the early summer evening chirping outside the window as they fluttered past. I got up from the large bed and slowly trotted to the bedroom door, being as quiet as I could be as to not disturb anyone that may have been asleep already. I trotted my way to the Throne Room, which wasn't far from her bedroom, and from there I knew how to exit the castle. I left the large doors without even meeting a single soul, which I found strangely satisfying. I was cutting through the courtyard and was just about to leave when I suddenly stopped dead in my tracks. My eyes widened as I saw what could've been quite possibly the most frightening thing I had seen in many years, placed exactly in the middle of a small circle of shrubs in the centre of the perfectly-aligned trees and topiary.

Standing before me was the laughing, maniacal forme of Discord, encased in stone.

I was about to scream before I heard a loud explosion from across Canterlot.


	5. Corn on a Cob

-Chapter V- Corn on a Cob

-Canterlot, Equestria

-1st of May, 1008 A.D.

-3:30 P.M.

-Cornflower

As a gust of wind blew around them, Cornflower couldn't help but shiver despite the warm summer winds that May had brought. As she and Corn Stalk awaited apprehensively for the arrival to again come along and collect the biweekly taxes that were promised. It wasn't often that Cornflower, too, came along for the payment, but she was ecstatic to at last have their debts paid, and no longer having to deal with them again. An earsplitting screech broke her from her thoughts and as she looked up to see the train from Manehattan slowly roll into the station, just as it did every fortnight. The train stopped after what felt like a year of slowly creeping up to the end of the rails that led into the Canterlot station, and Cornflower felt her brother's anxiety emanating off of him as the tension became harder and harder to withstand. The door opened at last and Cornflower felt herself straightening her back and hardening her expression almost instinctively. She and her brother exchanged glances when the door opened to what seemed to be an empty train car. As she saw a dark figure appear from the shadow of the dimly-lit car, she nearly backed away, but held her ground still, though out of courage or fear to move, she did not know. Corn Stalk swallowed hard as two more figures appeared behind the first, and the large bag of bits hanging from his jaw's grip jingled as the coins within it moved around.

"What's this?" the first figure asked sarcastically as he moved from the shadows of his shelter and out into the light of the mid-afternoon sun. His grey eyes burned into Cornflower's as he stared down at her hard, and he quickly turned to Corn Stalk, whom he had to look up to to meet eye-to-eye. The stallion that took the lead had a neatly trimmed mane, slicked back from his frightfully-fierce face, and had a fleshy pink scar just under his left eye that reached from the tip of his muzzle all the way to his left shoulder, cutting through the white fur that covered his body. As his mane went down his back it wrapped around his thick neck and clung to his right shoulder, opposite the ugly scar. As the wind blew again the tips of his jet-black mane didn't move, but rather stayed in place. When she was little, Cornflower had thought that he had scared his mane into staying into place at all times. Even now, though she knew this was obviously impossible, she still wondered. The two figures that followed him had similar manes, except one was grey and the other dark-brown. The unicorn to his left had the smokey grey mane, slicked back like his leader's, and was of a silver body, and wrinkles lining his face, especially around his dark-green eyes; the pegasus to his right, however, had the dark-brown mane of the same style as the other two, and was an ash colour. The main difference, however, was his left eye, hidden behind a large, black eye-patch. "A present for me?" their leader spoke up again.

"Yes, Mako," Corn Stalk said with a strong, heavy voice. "Here's your money. Now you can leave the Maize family in peace." Cornflower had always admired her brother's courage and strength; even in the most hopeless or desperate of times, he never seemed to stop being hopeful and strong.

"What do you mean, Stalk?" he asked, seemingly confused. "I think I've been...considerably peaceful so far, don't you?" he asked, taking a step towards him. When Corn Stalk didn't say a word, he seemed irritated, then turned to Cornflower and took a step towards her, "how about you?" he asked her.

"So far?" she asked angrily, "Now what do y'all mean by that?" Surely they didn't think that they still had money to be paid? The debt was paid in full, so what else would there be? What else _could_ there be? "One million bits, that's _it!_ " she stated forcefully.

"Stalk, calm your sister before she gets herself hurt."

"I'll show you who'll be getting hurt!" she exclaimed as she was about to jump at him, but just before her hooves left the ground, Stalk blocked her from Mako Shark. "Our deal is officially over with."

"No, you've paid the _initial_ debt, but there's still the interest to be given to us," he smiled cruelly. "Now, if you've got a problem with that, then you can have a nice little chat with my boss."

"Mako, the debt is paid. We're done here," Stalk said sternly.

But the Earthen Equestrian only shook his head in response. "Now, what do you two not get? You're _not_ done! In fact, I'd say you're only about...halfway there."

"Why, you little-!" Cornflower yelled at him as she tried to get around Stalk, only for him to again block her from her target. "There was no interest in the agreement! One million and that was _it!_ "

"Oh, I know that," he said quickly, turning away from the two, "it's a new policy, just started about...today. Ten years of interest on One million bits? Why, I'd say we're being mighty generous, don't you, Hammerhead?" The pegasus to his right jumped up into the air, nodding in agreement. His good eye flashed in amusement as he sped towards them and snatched the bag from Stalk's grip before either of them could react.

"Hey!" Cornflower yelled as the three of them again disappeared into the shadows of the train car, and she ducked under Stalk and maneuvered around his thick legs before galloping at Mako. Before Stalk could stop her, she jumped into the air, but as she was about to hit Mako, he ducked, and instead she got the pegasus behind him, Hammerhead, who was still holding the sack of bits. As the two fell to the floor of the train car, the bag split open and the bits fell everywhere, rolling across the luxury car and spilling onto the rails. As Cornflower recovered from the unexpected evasion, Hammerhead stood again over her. She began to stand again, but found herself cowering under his hard, one-eyed gaze. He bared his teeth at her, and as he was about to strike her in retaliation, he was stopped by Mako.

"No!" he said quickly to the pegasus. "Don't. Not yet."

"But she-" he began to argue.

"I know what she did," he turned to her with a cruel smile, "and she just signed her death warrant."

The pegasus flew towards her quickly, and she instinctively reacted by thrusting out her hoof and swiping it out at her attacker. She felt her hoof got caught on something, and when she opened her eye just enough to see what she had done, she saw his eye patch hanging from her hoof. She didn't dare look up at the pegasus, but when he landed hard on the ground, shaking the train car, she stumbled and fell again, paralyzed in fear of the dark stallion. His eye, a swollen, pink, fleshy ball of skin, was now slitted, opened as far as it seemed it possibly could, with a bloodshot eye now staring down at her as well. Mako stood in front of the pegasus as he picked up his eye patch from where it had fallen from Cornflower's hoof when she fell, and replaced it around his head. Mako picked up a hoof and thrust it at her, effectively throwing her out of the train car. As she landed on the cobble walkway, she only caught a glimpse of all of the bits they had worked so hard to earn as they flew back up into the luxury car, each coin surrounded in the unicorn's deep-purple magic. Mako's head appeared from the shadows as he glared down at the two siblings.

As a screech rang from the train and it began to back out of the station, and just before the door began to close, concealing them again behind the thin metal door, she heard his departing words before they disappeared, "Get us the bits by next week, or else you'll be creamed corn!"


	6. Promises, Broken and New

-Chapter VI- Promises, Broken and New

-Canterlot, Equestria

-1st of May, 1008 A.D.

-6:15 P.M.

-Sapphire

"Starswirl!" I called out as I galloped with all my might to where the explosion seemed to have came. "Starswirl are you all right?" I forced myself to hurry even faster. I knew exactly where that explosion came from. I've visited and worked there many times throughout my constant visits to Canterlot. It was Doctor Whooves' workshop. Many of the Equestrians I passed were looking toward the direction I sped past them in confusion and shock as the loud boom resonated through the air still. All I could hear, however, was the rapid clicking of my hooves against the cobble paths as I swerved around and about without giving any of my actions a second thought. I continued to increase my speed as my mind ran faster than I was, thinking of what sort of terrible things may have befallen my friend and mentor. I found myself trembling as I continued to gallop–at first it was nothing but the shaking of my limbs from exhaustion, perhaps even the vivid emotions flooding back into through my body before my mind had even realized it, but I soon realized that this was certainly not the case, for the shaking quickly grew worse, and before I knew it I found myself forced to stop in my tracks, paralyzed in the middle of the cobble walks as I stared down at my quaking hooves. The trembling continued to worsen as I began to vibrate violently, and if I dared move at all I felt extremely dizzy and uneasy. I looked forward and a wave of nausea washed over me as everything took on a bright-red tint. I developed something of a tunnel vision as the world before me was outstretched in such a drastic and peculiar way that a hoofstep ahead of me seemed to be a mile away. All other sounds began to muffle–as though balls of cotton were stuffed in my ears–and all the world tangible seemed to emit a loud, blood-curling wail that broke through my mind with its overbearing screech. However, what followed afterwords was the part that disturbed me the most. After what seemed to be an eternity of the over-encumbered state, the sound began to raise in pitch, eventually rising to a point that I could no longer hear it, but painful all the same.

My body collapsed at last, unable to take any more, and the pain began to ebb away. I opened my eyes, thinking it all over, but then a loud, overwhelming voice echoed through my mind, " _You'll...you'll never leave me, right?"_ the vaguely familiar voice asked. I knew that voice, but I couldn't quite place its source. It was strange, to hear the voice after so many years, and without an Equestrian to bear it.

A second voice, familiar as ever, responded almost immediately with the very same effect that the first had on me, " _Of course not!"_ it exclaimed. I got up with stiff and somewhat unresponsive limbs, desperate to move again towards the garage where I knew that Starswirl was in trouble and escape the dreaded mental scene, but I fumbled forward, my vision still terribly distorted, and I found myself unable to tell where I was and where my hooves were. I cried out for help, but no sound came from my mouth, and as I looked desperately for someone to cry out to, I found myself alone. The usually busy buildings and paths were eerily silent, and without nary a soul to so much as see me in my state. It was like I was in a world of my own. As difficult as it was, I still struggled onwards. _"How could I ever leave you?"_ the second voice asked, _"You're too good of a friend!"_

 _"All right..."_ the first voice replied back, _"I just wanted to make sure."_

I remembered a warm smile being shared, and the nostalgia and feelings of fillyhood returned to my mind as I my mind grew numb, despite the worsening pain in my body. _"Come on, let's go get some crystal berries."_

 _"All right!"_ the first voice agreed happily, _"Oh, and...thank you, Sapphire."_

 _"Of course, Star–er, Ruby!"_

"Ruby..." I repeated. At last I saw another being in my lonesome world, and as it neared the strange tint of the world began to dissipate. My vision slowly returned to normal, and I blinked hard as a stinging sensation ran through my eyes.

"Sapphire!" the figure called out. "Sapphire, get up!"

When I opened my eyes again, I was where my vision occurred still, lying in the middle of that cobble path. A few choice Equestrians stared at me in confusion with heads tilted to one side or another, and standing over was a worried Dusk Shine. "Are you all right?" she asked, the concern in her voice matching the worry in her eyes and expression. "You just screamed out and collapsed!"

I looked up at her, my mind running endlessly as I examined her eyes, which I now realized were tired with a collection of bags under each one. Her face was sunk in, and she seemed frail. "You..." I struggled to speak. "Wh...what happened to Starswirl?"

She seemed taken aback by my question. "What do you mean? Nothing's wrong with Starswirl. Sapphire, you should go back to bed, you still need more rest."

"N-no!" I stammered, trying to get up. I struggled to my hooves, but was stopped from going anywhere as Dusk Shine's soft-pink aura surrounded me and lifted me into the air. As I began to see the ground beneath me moving forward, I realized she was taking me to our home. I struggled to free myself from Dusk Shine's magic, but in my weakened state it was a fruitless cause. I relaxed, allowing my limbs to hang freely and dangle as I was carried back home.

When I awoke again, I was in my own bed, in my own house. I felt a smile creep across my lips as I fell back onto the soft pillow. I let out a long sigh before closing my eyes again to absorb the light filtering through the window and shining down on my crystalline body. I opened my eyes again to examine the soft-blue light reflecting all over the walls and ceiling. As I got back up, the specks danced around me, bobbing up and down harmonious to my own actions. I stretched the tiredness still lingering in my limbs and trotted out of the room and out into the kitchen, being careful to move around Faith's smaller bed lied out beside mine. I couldn't help but suppress a giggle as her soft snoring filled the room. I quietly walked out of the room, slowly closing the door behind me with my magic. I moved through the short hall and went through the front room to make my way into the kitchen. I noticed I was the only one awake, despite it already being nearly nine in the morning, and quietly moved into the washroom to get myself ready for the day.

I was in the middle of brushing my teeth when I heard a knock at the door. "Hello...?" I nearly swallowed my toothbrush when I heard Head Start. "Is anyone home?"

"Just a minute!" I said in a loud whisper, having trouble as I spoke around my toothbrush, hoping that he had heard me.

I looked to the washroom, seeing that it was a complete mess after I had washed my mane, and that I was still dripping wet. I quickly used my magic to wipe down the mirror, mop up the floor, run my towel down my mane and brush it after each stroke, and brush my teeth all at once, trying to hurry so that I could make it to the door before he decided that either no one was home or awake. As I continued to brush my teeth I realized that everything that I was doing, although tiresome and exhausting to a certain degree, was very satisfying with how well they were moving together, almost like clockwork. As I washed out my mouth, I began to dry my body off, and shined my horn, but when I turned around I noticed that the mop I had been using to clean up the floor was walking towards the supply closet, still surrounded by my blue aura. I shook it off, deciding that it was only my imagination, which was obviously getting the best of me recently, and quickly galloped lightly to the door, just in time to see Head Start begin to turn around as I opened it, gasping for breath. "Hey, Head Start," I said between gulps of air, "I'm sorry about that, I'm currently the only one awake right now and I was in the washroom," I said with a nervous smile.

A smile brightened his face as I realized that my blue body was reflecting off of the summer sun and sending specks of air all across him and the front room. "You're...very shiny this morning, Miss Streak," he said with an amused laugh.

I could feel myself blush as I noticed that I was shining just as he did, and nervously rubbed my two front legs together, but then I was taken somewhat aback. "Wait, how'd you know my full name?"

"Hm? Oh! My apologies," he said with a quick shake of his head, "I heard Princess Celestia call you by your full name a few times she was over. When you were, well, you know."

"You...heard her...?" I asked dumbly as I realized that he must've been standing guard all of, if not most of the time, I was in my coma. "Oh, yes, I just don't use the Streak name very much anymore."

He nodded in understanding, thankfully not further pressing the matter. "Well, I just wanted to make sure you were okay. I heard what happened yesterday, what with the panic attack and that strange vision you had."

"You know about that?"

He nodded again, "Dusk Shine told me," he explained, "she said she just wanted me to know, so that if you were acting strangely again to just tell her."

"Yeah..." I said uneasily.

A worried look overcame the stallion, "Sapphire, just know that I'll be here if you need me, all right? I mean, if you need someone to talk to other than Dusk Shine and Faith. I'm here too."

I smiled. "Thank you, Head Start."

"You are most welcome, Miss Streak."


	7. Friends in Need

-Chapter VII- Friends in Need

-Canterlot, Equestria

-6th of May, 1008 A.D.

-8:25 A.M.

-Sapphire

"Perhaps there's some sort of magical flux that holds the two dimensions apart," Starswirl pointed out sagely.

I nodded, examining the dense metal as Starswirl followed me around his and the Doctor's creation. I felt the cold material with my hoof, feeling the smooth surface broken only by the bolts welded in to create the massive archway that nearly reached the roof of Doctor Whooves' shop. "Like a rod held out to keep two things to close in on themselves."

"Yes, exactly. If there was only a way to find some sort of path that brought us into the other dimension, rather than bring the other world to us."

"Like a tunnel, of a sort." I said more to myself than to my mentor.

It had been five days since my peculiar vision, and it only proved so far to be that: a vision. Still no one knew about it sans Dusk Shine and Head Start while I did my best to avoid thinking about it. I dismissed it only as dehydration nagging at my mind, seeing as how I had been in the coma for over a month with little to no fluids at a time, and since it hasn't returned. Everything seemed to have returned to the way they had been before the fight with Discord, save for Cornflower, who seemed to be bugged by something, but every time I asked her about it, she only ignored the question, dismissed it as nothing, or avoided the subject. Only once did it seem that she was indecisive as to whether she should tell me or not, but Shining Star happened to come in and she again changed the subject. Meanwhile, just the day before, Starswirl had decided to share with me his creation, which now loomed over my head as I felt its edges, feeling the magic reinforced within it. Despite all of the precautions Starswirl and Doctor Whooves had made for this, their portal did not seem to work. Plenty of magic was stored within the centre, that was no trouble, and it was unlikely for there _not_ to be another dimension to be accessed, according to the Omniverse Theory, which I thought to be true. I backed away from the creation with a pang of pride, knowing that Starswirl had confided in me such an important project. Little to no Equestrians knew of what he was building, and I could see how much he yearned to make a breakthrough. Every time we discussed the portal, I could see a gleam of enjoyment in his eye that told me that he wasn't doing this for himself, or any other Equestrian, but to make history. However, that joy always seemed to dissipate when Princess Celestia came around; it was obvious just how against the project she was. Our discussions always faltered when she came into the room, and Starswirl's words seemed to die away as he watched her trot through, sometimes changing the subject completely to talk to either Starswirl or myself.

"I'm telling you, Starswirl, we need another source of magic," the Doctor called from his workbench on the catwalk above our heads towards the top of the arch, his colourless mane bobbing up and down as he rearranged his tools accordingly by size. I always liked the Doctor's shop. It was so neat and tidy. "This one is just not strong enough."

"What are you using now?" I asked, turning to the grey stallion. Despite the youthfulness that seemed to flow back into his body whenever he researched or was on the verge of a major breakthrough, he seemed more ancient than ever. His eyes were sunken in, his grey mane grown out and ragged, even his beard had grown unusually long to the point that it nearly brushed the ground. Normally he would've shaved it after a day or two, and the longest I had ever seen it was no longer than an inch away from his chin, and more commonly it was nothing more than whiskers, but now he seemed not to care about his physical appearance quite so much. It was almost like he was becoming obsessed with making the magic to enter another realm. This was the main reason why I had accepted his invitation to assist him: I hoped that once we either called it quits or figured it out, he would begin to return to his normal self again, proper and wise.

"Currently we are using...well, that doesn't matter; what's important is that we need something stronger," he answered carefully. What was it he was using?

"Well, perhaps...perhaps..." My mind wandered off, thinking of something we could use to harvest pure energy, rather than magic, and cut out the middlemare. _What had that Twilight said she used to travel through time...? The...the powerstream? Lifestream?_ I shook my head, trying to clear it. How could I even think about that lunatic's crazed explanations?

"Well, I'm plum out of ideas, to be completely honest," Doctor Whooves said in his peculiar accent. I never said anything to him about it, but I always found it almost humourous. It was something different, and some of the things he said rather than typical expressions were even more humourous.

"Maybe it's not the source," I thought out loud.

"What could it be, then?" Starswirl asked with a raised eyebrow, tilting his head to one side.

"What is this structure made of, exactly?"

"Magically reinforced iron, of course," he answered smoothly without a thought.

"Hmm..." I trailed away again, my mind racing for another material capable of breaking magical physics. My mind wandered back to Shining's mane salon, all of those mirrors...

 _I've got it._

"Have you tried following any sort of folklore, or mythical history of inter-dimensional wormholes?"

"What do you mean?" the Doctor asked, trotting down the stairs back onto the ground level. He stopped at my left side, following my gaze to the top of the arch where it curved back down. Starswirl joined me after him, at my right, looking at me, puzzled.

"It is said that mirrors hold another dimension behind them, protecting the delicate balance between our worlds through a simple layer of glass. If that glass is shattered, so is the connection to the other dimension, thus, no longer leaving a reflection, but only whatever was behind it."

"But that is only a fairytale; completely mythical," Starswirl countered.

"Not exactly," I said quickly, "Perhaps it is at least somewhat applicable to what we're trying to accomplish here, connecting worlds together through the Omniverse."

"Are you sure? I mean, like Starswirl said, it's only folklore," Doctor Whooves said coolly. Though he seemed doubtful, I could see a glimmer of curiosity in his eye.

"So is entering another dimension," I pointed out.

I quickly turned to Starswirl, who seemed to be thinking of my proposal. "You may have a point, Sapphire," he said with a hoof to his chin. "I've been thinking myself that perhaps your concept of 'magic through science' doesn't apply everywhere, here being an example."

I proudly nodded, seeing Starswirl acknowledge that the concept was indeed my own. My doubts, though limited, still seemed to cling to the back of my mind no matter how hard I try to ignore them, only returning once I believed them to be gone. "Thank you, Starswirl."

"No," he said quickly with a youthful smile once again returning to his withered, frail face. "Thank you, Sapphire, for helping me so much with this. I know Princess Celestia doesn't agree with our plan, but it means a lot to me that you are willing to help me, and I assure you I will do all in my power to compensate you for you assistance."

I waved a hoof, dismissing the offer. "I appreciate it, sir, but I'm perfectly suffice now as it is. Besides," I continued, "I find pleasure in helping with magic. It's nice to learn all that I can, and see that I am doing good."

His smile grew all the brighter. "I am proud to call you my apprentice. You already know just as much, if not more than I do, in fact!" he exclaimed gladly as he circled the large metal object he and the Doctor created together. He suddenly stopped, and quickly turned back to face me with a glimmer of amusement in his grey eyes. "What had you just called me?"

At first I was confused, but then I realized what he meant. "I appreciate it, _Starswirl,_ " I said, returning his amused expression.

"So then a mirror, eh?" Doctor Whooves said, still from beside me. He pondered my words more thoroughly it seemed than Starswirl, as if he doubted my thoughts more than he. I didn't mind if he did; I could get all the criticism that I could, still being an apprentice. "Now that you mention it..." He began to nod, slowly at first, but with each passing moment he seemed to become more sure. "Yeah, I think you're on to something there, Sapphire."

"I have an old mirror back in my home in the Crystal Empire that would quite nicely," Starswirl called from where he was, back on the catwalk beside the Doctor's tool bench.

"That's great!" I exclaimed suddenly. I was proud to see my thoughts seem to make more sense to the Doctor. He disliked magic quite a whole, but he always ignored whenever Starswirl or someone around him mentioned it or went into a heavy discussion about it. To see him willing to accept the properties of magic, even a little, was astonishing.

"Sapphire?" I heard a shy, uneasy voice call out from the entrance of the workshop. I turned around to the source of the voice. If I hadn't known better, I would've assumed the call came from Flower Bud, but it was obvious who the voice belonged to.

Cornflower.

"Hey, Cornflower, how are you?" Starswirl called down from the catwalk. She looked up at him and nodded, and gave him a questioning look. He looked to where the metal arch curved away from him, and gave her a little smile before holding a hoof in front of his lips.

She shook the thought off and turned back to me. "May I talk to you, Sapphire?"

I could see a look of desperation in her eyes, worry pungent within her voice. I quickly trotted up to her. "Of course, Cornflower." I looked up to Starswirl for permission, and he gave a nod of understanding.

We trotted out of the Doctor's shop together, side-by-side, and for a moment only silence hung between us. I didn't want to press what it was she wanted to talk to me about. I had been worried about her for the past week, almost. "I'm sorry," she began at last without looking up from her hooves as she continued along the path. "Princess Celestia told me you'd be there."

"It's no trouble, really," I told her calmly. I kept myself slowed somewhat to match her pace. Something was definitely on her mind. "What's the matter?" I asked softly. "You haven't seemed to be yourself these past couple of days."

"Well...it's...my family..." she mumbled, the words practically falling from between her lips. She stopped altogether and closed her eyes tightly, although expecting some large force to crash into her. She took a deep breath, and quickly began again. "I need to ask you a favour."

I was taken aback at first; even her country accent seemed to fade in the sense of seriousness in her voice. I was more than willing to help my friend. "What is it? Anything."

She didn't seem as sure of my answer as I felt. She let the air from her lungs and began to explain. "My family is in debt. Major debt."

"How much in debt?"

She seemed almost unwilling to reply. "One...million bits," she said quietly, closing her eyes in shame.

My eyes widened. _One million bits?_ "How'd you get into so much debt? And with whom, might I ask?"

"Loan sharks," she said uneasily. "About five years ago, my mother was dying. We didn't know what was wrong with her, but she had a large growth on her shoulder. Every doctor we talked to said that it was in her head at first, the pain, and when the growth came up they said it was the work of Tirek er something...my dad tried to work twice as hard on the farm to be able to pay for everything we thought she would need, but in the end, she died."

"Oh my goodness, Cornflower..." I trailed off, at a loss for words.

She took another deep breath before continuing again, "After she died, my dad kinda...lost the will to live, almost. He rarely got up in the mornin', and the farm was almost lost. We were already in debt because of the hospital bills, and with no one keeping up the farm, we only got farther down. We almost lost the farm. But then, realizing we were about to lose everything, began to work again. But when he did, he literally worked himself to death. Fatally ill, his last resort was to talk to a group of loan sharks based in Manehattan. Not even a month later, he died, and everything, the responsibilities of the farm, the debts to be paid, _everything_ went to me, my brother, and my sister. Kernel doesn't know anything about the sharks, but we've done all that we could to pay everything off. Now they want a second million bits for the interest. And they want it in two days."

"Two _days?_ " I asked in disbelief. "How can they expect you to get that much money on only two days?"

"Actually, we had the entirety of the week, but we didn't know who to turn to for help. We knew there was no way of getting the money, so we've been racking our heads nonstop trying to figure out a way out of this."

"That's why you've been so stressed lately..." I muttered softly. A look of regret and shame overcame the yellow mare's face, and she hid behind her leaf-green mane. "What can _I_ do?" 

"Well...I was hoping that maybe...you could talk to them or something, maybe try to figure out a way to get us out of this. I mean, you're the smartest Equestrian in Canterlot since you've came here, and well..." she hung her head again. "I don't even know anymore."

I pursed my lips, irritated with how the loan sharks were taking advantage of Cornflower and her family. "I will do all that I can," I promised.

Her gaze turned from heavy fear to great relief. "Thank you Sapphire. You have no idea how much this means to us." But then the fear returned to her large, round green eyes. "But please, no matter what happens, do your best to keep this a secret. No one in Canterlot knows anything about this, and if word got out that my father did this sorta stuff, no one would ever think of him the same way ever again. I couldn't imagine his reputation being tarnished over something he did for his family years ago, especially in such dire times."

"I understand completely, and I promise, I will do all in my power to stop them. I'll keep your secret safe with me, too."


	8. Predators of the Deep

-Chapter VIII- Predators of the Deep

-Canterlot, Equestria

-8th of May, 1008 A.D.

-12:00 P.M.

-Sapphire

"So, you actually showed up, eh? Hope you've got our money ready for us. We're gonna need to take that to go," he laughed quietly for a moment. "Places to go, Equestrians to beat money out of...you know how it is."

"Actually, no. I don't," I said, stepping out of the shadows of the train station. I looked him over, examining his unnaturally thin body, but even that seemed to be normal compared to the elder Equestrian that followed him out of the train car. He was a unicorn, unlike the earthen Equestrian that seemed to be at the head of the frenzy of loan sharks. Not a second later, the two were joined by a third: a pegasus with an eye patch. Fear gripped me as the three looked me up and down with grim smiles of amusement, but I pushed it away and held my ground. "Care to explain?"

The earthen scoffed as he watched me stand firm. "You're kidding me, right?" he lowered his head so that shadow covered his eyes. "So then you _still_ don't got the rest of our bits, eh? After all the time we gave you? I thought we were being mighty generous...but then you had to go behind our backs and bring someone _else_ into our little...disagreement?" He glared at Cornflower, who stood before them with Corn Stalk, awaiting their final response. I could see the fear in their eyes, especially Cornflower, but her brother seemed more confident. I knew it wasn't because of me. He was going to fight if he had to.

For his sisters.

For his father.

For his family.

"Our debt _has_ been paid," he said in his deep voice, his green eyes shining with resentment. His short, bright-green mane blew in the wind as a gust blew through, and I couldn't help but notice a glimmer of doubt among the three loan sharks.

"Look," the pegasus began, "It's not _our_ faults you two don't have our money. It's not _her_ problem," - he pointed a hoof towards me - "It's not _my_ problem, it ain't nobody in Canterlot's problem!" he stopped before leering back at Cornflower. "Except for you two."

"What do you think we should do, Mako?" the elder unicorn asked with a raised eyebrow.

The earthen looked back at his companion and smiled. "I think you two know what to do. Hammerhead? Whale?" Without another moment's hesitation he nodded. "Get 'em."

The pegasus dived toward Cornflower, but Stalk was quicker, defending his sister as Hammerhead brought his hoof down on the muscular stallion. Stalk grunted in pain, but showed no weakness. He quickly retaliated and swiped a hoof back at him, striking his jaw. The pegasus was sent back a bit, but came back for another blow. Whale Shark teleported behind him and charged at Cornflower, but I was there in a flash of my turquoise magic. I ducked under his blow and swung around with a leap and kicked him in the side. He buckled. Mako came in for a blow, landing square on my shoulder. I headbutted him, throwing him into the air before I came at him again with a blow to his belly. The air was knocked out of him, but he stood firm. He jumped at me. I tried to evade but he clipped me and we both tumbled to the cobble ground. For a moment we fought for the upper hoof but he pinned me. He raised a hoof but I teleported out of the way. I was facing away from him, and quickly veered back to him with a spell charged. A beam of magic flew straight towards him, but it was blocked by another spell; I turned quickly to see Whale Shark jump at me again. He was fast, despite his withered grey body. A blast of magic was sent straight towards me and I quickly reflected it straight into the sky. Without giving him a moment to think, I teleported behind him and picked him up with my magic, throwing him across the station. I stumbled as Hammerhead flew past me, sending a gust of wind that blew me off my hooves.

He came straight back and struck me on my side, throwing me again off balance and causing the world around me to spin relentlessly. I tried to stabilize, but I only was lost as he came back around again. He landed heavily and swiftly brought forth a barrage of hooves, throwing stars about my vision. I desperately retaliated. I blasted another beam of magic at him as soon as he appeared again in my sight, and he was sent off course. I double-jumped over him as he crashed, and I landed heavily back down on him. I jumped into the air and sent down another blast of magic, carrying him in a circle over my head and bringing him back down even harder. I landed on my hooves again, and jumped to the side just in time to dodge another spell from Whale Shark. I rolled towards him quickly, just sliding past his magic. I regained my footing and spun around quickly to strike him across his face with my hind leg. He fell backwards with a puff of dust bellowing from beneath him. Hammerhead flew just over him and headed straight for me. He slammed into me and flew into the air again, bringing me along with him. I struggled to escape, but to no avail. He barreled back down and I had to close my eyes as the ground neared. Another force slammed into us and sent me across the cobble road again, dazed. I looked to see Cornflower and Stalk surrounding Whale together and closing in on him.

Mako came in again and staggered me with a blow to my hind leg. I fell to the ground as he came back with a second blow to my back. He charged at me and thrashed into me before throwing me back into the air, limp with pain. He stopped beneath me and jumped into the air, the force of his jump sent into my belly. I winced as I fell again. I quickly got back up, despite the immense pain and tried to stand firm again. "You're not going to win," he warned before charging back again.

"Maybe not..." I trailed off, waiting for him to get closer. Closer...closer... _now!_ I slid beneath him and threw his hooves out from beneath him. "But I can sure try!" While off balance, I quickly shot back up and sent him spinning. I kicked out with my sore hind legs and forced him back with all the more power. He tumbled, sending clouds of dirt everywhere as we slowly left the train station. "Oh no you don't..." I muttered beneath my breath as I lifted him into the air with my magic. I lifted him high into the air and threw him over my head and into the side of the train car from which he came. I quickly galloped towards him again, and used my magic to reinforce my speed, hurtling myself into my foe. His eyes widened with fear as a blue barrier began to surround me, and I leaped into the air with a fierce cry as I dealt the final blow, forcing him back into the train car wall and nearly tipping the entire car over in the process.

I stood over him, victorious. I waited for him to make another move, almost _wanting_ him to try to get back up. I breathed heavily and watched as Corn Stalk loomed over a fearful Hammerhead Shark and Cornflower tying up a clearly exhausted Whale Shark. I quickly switched my gaze back to Mako, and he flinched, as though expecting me to attack again. "Tell your boss in wherever it was that you came from," I said to him, "That if he has a problem with you coming back empty-hoofed... _he can come speak to me._ " His eyes widened in fear again as I spoke, and through the reflection of his eyes, large with fear for his life, I could just barely make out my reflection. I seemed normal until...I realized my eyes were glowing a bright, eery red. I was taken aback and I shook my head in shock of my own reflection. _Oh dear Lord...what's happening to me...?_

 _ **\- ...**_

 ****His eyes shot open, his left eye glowing a bright-blue. It's been so long since he felt this...this surge of energy. Not since...

 ***heh...**

 **_*they're alive_**


	9. Mirror Images

-Chapter IX- Mirror Images

-Canterlot, Equestria

-12th of May, 1008 A.D.

-6:25 A.M.

-Sapphire

I awaited patiently at the train station, bouncing up and down in excitement. It had been four days since Cornflower, Corn Stalk and I had defeated the three loan sharks and sent back to from whence they came. Now I bore a great smile as I expected to see the train come up from the mountain path it took up to Equestria to bring forth Starswirl, who left the day before the fight with Mako and his gang to fetch the mirror that he had back at his home in the Crystal Empire. I heard a loud whistle in the distance, and excitement shot through me. I heard hoofsteps from behind me and was joined by Flower Bud, Shining, Dusk Shine, and Faith on Dusk Shine's back. Flower Bud, as usual, stayed close to the ground, her long, light-yellow mane brushing the ground beneath her as she delicately flew on green wings while Dusk Shine galloped happily to meet me. She changed her position to prepare herself for something, and I didn't get the chance to ask what before Faith jumped high into the air off of the pink Crystalline Equestrian's back. "Heyy!" she called out joyously over the fierce winds that whipped the train as it made the final stretch of its journey.

As the train slowed its course, I found myself almost hopping in place, feeling like Nilly with the energy that surged through me. "Oh boy, I wonder what this whole 'mirror' business is all about?" I heard Flower Bud ask the others gently from behind.

"Apparently Sapphire and him are working on some top-secret project that only they and Doctor Whooves know about," Faith boasted happily as the train came to a full stop in the train station. "The mirror's purpose, however..." she trailed away, "I have no clue."

"Well, remember I have plenty of mirrors back at the salon, Sapphire. If you need a second or more, I'm always willing to help in any way I can," Shining offered. Her light-purple mane shone brightly in the early-dawn light, and her deep-blue coat was groomed explicitly well without nary a single fur out of place. "I want to look absolutely perfect for when Starswirl returns, darling!" she had told me an hour before back at the salon when she was still brushing it. The others decided to wait for her, although with much objection from her, and I was sent ahead to greet him in case we were late, much to my own objection.

"Yeah, I know," I said over my shoulder without tearing my gaze from the crystalline train that always brought passengers to and from the Crystal Empire, "but Starswirl insisted on using his own mirror. Although I can't say I know why."

"Maybe it has some sort of...magical properties that only Starswirl knows about?" Dusk Shine said whimsically. I shook my head with a light laugh. Dusk Shine was beginning to make the silliest of concepts that always brought amusement to those who heard.

"Or maybe it's _actually_ a portal to another dimension!" My ears perked and I quickly turned around to look at Flower Bud, who was now facing confused stares from everyone except for me. She shied behind her lengthy mane, slowly landing softly onto the cobble ground. "...or something," she added quietly.

"Or maybe it's just a normal mirror," Faith suggested with a shrug and a smile.

I quickly turned back to face the crystal train car as I heard it let out a loud, earsplitting whistle and something heavy slide. I watched as Starswirl exited the shadows of the train car, his horn glowing with his greyed magic. I awaited patiently to help take over the weight of the purple mirror as it followed close behind him, floating in the air, surrounded by the same aura that his horn was. "Now," he said with a kind, yet firm tone, "be _very_ careful with this mirror, Sapphire."

"What's so special about the mirror?" Dusk Shine asked with a raised eyebrow as I passed her by.

I stopped and turned around to Starswirl expectantly, just as curious for the answer as everyone else was. He only smiled at her, a glimmer of amusement in his eye at our curiosity. "For now, nothing in a physical sense, especially not to anyone sans myself, although...it was a family heirloom," he said wistfully. For a moment a sense of sadness seemed to overwhelm his expression, but he quickly turned it away and focused again on the task at hoof. "Come," he said, "let us continue our research, Sapphire."

"Can we come, too?" Faith asked hopefully.

Starswirl stopped in his tracks at her question, and looked over his shoulder at the baby dragon. He seemed indecisive as to allow the dragon and others to follow. "I uh..." he trailed away.

He turned his gaze to me, hoping for assistance, but I looked up at him with a pleading look as well. "Cornflower saw it," I reminded him.

He sighed. "All right," he said reluctantly. "But!" he added abruptly when excitement ran through my friends, "None of you, and I mean _none_ of you can tell another soul what this is, all right? Cornflower may have seen it," he said, turning back to me, "but she had no idea what it was."

"Yaaaaaaaaaayyy!" Nilly screamed out in excitement. We all looked at her in confusion.

"Where did you come from?" Flower Bud asked as Vanilla Cream continued to bounce around us in a circle, her curly chocolate-brown mane bouncing up and down with every hop.

She stopped moving around us and began to jump in place while she turned to look at Flower Bud. "I was coming along to see what you guys were all looking at, and then I saw Starswirl coming out of the train. I've been here since!" she said excitedly, circling us yet again.

"All right, all right," Starswirl said with a hint of humour in his voice as he chuckled and began trotting down the cobble paths and back to where the Doctor's workshop was. "Come along, then. Soon dawn will break, and I want as much hours of light as possible for working. Perhaps you five could be of assistance anyway." Flower Bud and Dusk Shine lit up immediately, while Shining Star and Vanilla Cream simply talked quietly amongst themselves with Faith joining in on the conversation every once in a while.

"Hey, Starswirl," I asked suddenly, the though popping up in my head randomly at the mentioning of his family.

He didn't stop moving along beside me, but looked over to me as he responded, "Yes, Sapphire?"

"Do you have any siblings?" Almost as soon as I asked, I wish I wouldn't have.

First he seemed taken aback by my question, but then a flash of anger flared in his gaze and abhorred from his fierce glare before he stopped himself. "I'm sorry, Sapphire, I didn't...I..." he let out a sigh, "Let's just continue with our work, shall we?"

It didn't take long before we reached the large garage door of the workshop, and Starswirl had already seemed to have forgotten my question completely. "Doctor?" he called through a small gap between the bottom of the massive door and the hard ground beneath, "I'm back with the mirror." I held up the mirror to the long horizontal window that ran along the wide garage door. The mirror's reflection seemed to hold a mystical light in it as my magic surrounded its shining surface.

"Ah! Yes, perfect!" he called from behind. We heard a small _click_ and the large door began to go upwards. We saw the Doctor standing on all four colourless hooves excitedly on the other side, looking us over quickly with a glint of excitement shining brightly in his eyes before turning his attention to the mirror still floating in the air, surrounded by my turquoise aura. "Oh, I simply cannot wait!" he exclaimed as he turned around to gallop back to a small pedestal place in the very centre of the large room, not even noticing the extra guests that followed close behind us.

I heard an inspirational " _whoa_ " from Faith and I craned my neck around to see her beholding the large metal arch that was the original concept for the portal. "That thing is _huge!_ " she exclaimed.

"Yes," Doctor Whooves said as he guided the mirror down onto the pedestal. "However, it's not what we are working on."

"Well, not anymore, anyway," Starswirl added with a smile. "Now _this_ is the main focus!" he said, spreading out his front hooves in the direction of the mirror, sitting idly in its spot.

"And...the concept is...?" Shining Star asked with a curious smile.

" _WHOA_ this place is _huge!_ " We all turned around at once to see Nilly looking up to the ceiling from atop the Doctor's catwalk, examining every detail of the near-empty room with enhanced curiosity. "I don't think I've ever been in here, now that I think about it!"

"Yes, well, usually my work is considerably private, but now I think I can make an exception. After all, you all are friends of Sapphire, yes?" Doctor Whooves asked as he polished the mirror's reflective surface, looking at us through the reflection.

They all nodded their heads, almost in unison.

"Well then good! I must say, Sapphire I _never_ would have thought about such a vague and silly concept, but now that my mind has lingered awhile on the subject, it really is a clever idea. Now I find myself so giddy, despite the heavy presence of magic, which usually I prefer to avoid." He turned to Dusk Shine and the others, even Nilly returned to the group to listen to the Doctor's praise. "So you all are welcome to help along in any way you'd like, if you wish."

"Awesome!" Faith exclaimed. "I've been curious about what it is that you've been doing in here, Sapphire."

"As have I," Dusk Shine added with a awe-filled smile as she looked up at the paperweight of an arch. "What exactly _is_ all of this that you've been doing for?"

I opened my mouth to say that I shouldn't reveal it yet to be stopped short by Starswirl. "Right now, it is nothing but mere research, Dusk Shine. Nothing you should worry yourself about at all." He turned to face the metal arch that he and the Doctor built, his back facing the rest of the mares and Faith. "In due time...in due time..." he muttered quietly.

It wasn't long after the others left again and it was only me, Doctor Whooves, and Starswirl, each of the three pacing in differing directions as we contemplated the approach that would best suit what it was we meant to do. I couldn't help but look over to the purple mirror sitting idly on its own beneath the curve of the first attempt at the portal. I kept my gaze to the floor, watching as the smooth, flat, grey surface glided beneath me as I continued along my path. "What could we possibly do?" I heard Starswirl say. I turned to where he was, standing on four hooves staring up at the large arch, and, in the middle of it, the mirror. He trotted up to the mirror silently, staring hard at his reflection, and placed a hoof on the clean reflective glass. "Could we store magic in there? How can we _possibly_ pierce the fabric of the Omniverse?" he asked, his voice hardening to an angered growl. "If we could, what is to say that we won't disrupt an ancient balance that could destroy the world?"

 _You can't let him give up,_ I heard a voice in my head say quietly as I watched him.

 _But what am I to do?_ I thought, countering the second set of thoughts.

 _The answer is magic. Lots and lots of magic._

 _Like...a group of unicorns' worth?_ Perhaps Luna would allow the royal magicians to help them?

 _No. Much, much more!_ My eyes widened with realization.

"Starswirl!" I exclaimed, excitement rising up in my belly.

He quickly jerked his attention from the mirror and back to me. "Yes, Sapphire?"

"I know how we can do this!" I assured him. "We're going to need a _lot_ of magic."

His gaze turned from curious to one of astonishment as he began to see what I meant. "You mean...?"

I nodded. "We're going to need at least three alicorns' worth."


	10. A New Guest

-Chapter X- A New Guest

-Canterlot, Equestria

-12th of May, 1008 A.D.

-11:21 A.M.

-Dusk Shine

She walked along the cobble happily back to their house. _Sapphire and Faith will be excited to find that we_ finally _have furniture!_ she thought as she trotted back to the now-familiar path. She looked up to the tall castle, looming over the rest of the city, watching as Princess Celestia watched the skies from her perch on the balcony high into the air above the rest of the massive castle. She turned her gaze back to the house, looking over the working stallions moving the furniture that she and Princess Luna had picked out soon after leaving Sapphire and Starswirl to their work. "Do you need any help?" she asked politely as she reached the shadow of her home, switching her gaze from one of the muscular Equestrians to another. Some were unicorns, moving the furnishings with little to no effort with their magic, while the others picked up the chairs with their jaws, or simply pushed their work through the door, careful to not damage neither the doorway nor what they were moving.

"Nah, we should be fine on our own," one replied heartily as he moved a loveseat through the door. "Appreciate the offer though."

"Of course. Here, the least I could do is help move them into place. I've got everything planned out in my head."

He nodded in understanding. "Of course."

It didn't take long after for the rest of her purchases were placed in the living room, strewn about randomly. With a smile on her face thinking about Sapphire's reaction to seeing everything so nice and orderly when she returned, Dusk Shine began to lift the miscellaneous furnishings with her magic, sure to move the couch up against the wall that had three windows in a row so that it faced away from the windows when the dazzling light of the setting sun filled the room with its ominous orange glow. She could picture it perfectly in her head, the light of the afternoon fading from her vision and seeing the room when it would be completely set up, seeing it in the early morning, then the late evenings taken over by the moon, filling the room with its soft white glow. She blinked away the thought and continued moving the cream-coloured loveseat perpendicular to the couch of the same colour so that it faced away from the front door, giving a miniature hall, of sorts, to walk through and around the loveseat to the centre of the living room, where a small, dark stained coffee table sat. The piano was placed in the centre of the wall opposite of where the loveseat sat, beside the wood-burning stove placed in the corner.

Within seconds, the living room was completely set up, and she moved on to the rest of the house.

 _…_

Once she was finished, the movers already left, Dusk Shine sat on the soft couch in the living room, looking over her work with satisfaction. She had just laid back, closed her eyes and let out a deep sigh as she heard a knock on the door, soft and uneasy, it seemed. She opened her eyes and quickly looked to where a shadow fell across the light filtering through the decorative glass window in the door and across the wall beside the door. She got up in confusion. She could make out the silhouette of a unicorn as she made her way around the loveseat. _Sapphire?_ Could she be here already? It was a good thing she had everything placed the way she'd like! "Sapphire?" she called as she turned the doorknob with her magic, and swinging open the door, expecting to see the blue Crystalline Equestrian to be standing on the other side, staring back at her with the same smile Dusk Shine offered. She was confused as she looked straight away to where Sapphire's face normally was. _...uh..._ she looked down to nearly jump back in surprise as she found herself staring at a young, wary unicorn staring back up at her with embarrassment and uncertainty sparking in her gaze. "May I...help you?"

"You said Sapphire, right?" she blurted out suddenly. She immediately retreated away a bit, staring back up at the pink Crystalline expectantly.

"Um...yes. Are you looking for her? She's not here right now, maybe she'll be back before too long," she assured the filly.

The little one seemed to wince away from Dusk Shine's answer. "I'm so sorry for bothering you then," she told her shyly. "Could you tell me where I could find her, then?"

"Well, I'm not exactly sure myself, but..." she trailed away as she met the filly's sad, lost eyes. She stifled another sigh and quickly decided what she should do. "Come on, I'll take you to where I'm pretty sure where she is."

The filly's eyes lit up hopefully immediately. "Oh, would you? Thank you, thank you!" she exclaimed suddenly, throwing her at Dusk Shine and wrapping her hooves around the older unicorn in a big hug.

 _Does Sapphire know her? Surely not, she would've told me, right?_

"Come on, I'll take you now, if you like," Dusk Shine offered, running her hoof carefully down the little unicorn's deep-purple mane.

The filly backed away sheepishly, her dark-blue eyes shining with hope once more, a small, shy smile lighting up her appearance. She nodded. Dusk Shine couldn't help but look down on this young Equestrian and wonder where her family could be. Was she alone? She was just about to step out the door after casting a final glance back at the newly-furnished front room when she heard a deep growl. She snapped her gaze quickly to the filly. "Sorry," she apologized in embarrassment. "I haven't eaten in a while. She wrapped a hoof weakly beneath her and around her sunken-in belly.

Dusk Shine looked over the weak, pitiful unicorn in horror. "How long?" she asked.

She shrugged. "I dunno, a couple days, maybe."

 _A couple days?_ Without thinking, Dusk Shine gestured her guest in the house. "Come on, let me get you something to eat first."

The filly's eyes lit up with surprise, hunger burning in her gaze. _How long has she gone without a decent meal?_ "R-really?"

Dusk Shine turned back around, opening the door wide to reveal the home to the youth. "Come on in."

 _…_

"Dusk Shine!" The mare was just washing the dishes in the newly-cleaned sink as she heard Faith's call from the front yard.

Dusk Shine opened the two windows above the sink, letting the soft sounds of the outside into the kitchen. "Faith?" she called back. At first her only response was birdsong from the trees in the front yard.

She heard the door open and close again, and the baby messenger dragon appeared around the corner of the wall dividing the door from the kitchen. "Hey, is-" she stopped and Dusk Shine looked over to the baby-blue dragon to find her looking at her guest in confusion. "Who's this?" she asked, eying the filly curiously.

Dusk Shine looked back at the unicorn and smiled as she saw her hungrily tear through another sandwich. "Faith, this is Moonlight Sparkle." She turned to Moonlight, "Moonlight, this is Faith." Moonlight looked at the dragon, and nodded in greetings with a smile. She gulped down the rest of her meal and hopped down from her seat and galloped to where the dragon stood.

Faith winced away from her as Moonlight stopped in front of her. "Hi, Faith! I've been looking forward to meeting you three for the past week or so." Her face was brighter now, she was obviously more comfortable now.

"Uh...thanks?" Faith replied uncertainly, reaching out a hand, which Moonlight almost immediately took and shook happily.

"I'm sorry for coming without warning, but I've been looking for Sapphire for a while now."

"What? Why?" Faith almost seemed angry. Dusk Shine was taken aback by Faith's bluntness.

"Faith, may I talk to you for a second or two?" Dusk Shine asked quickly before the now hurt Moonlight could respond.

Faith tore her gaze from the deep-purple unicorn and to the pink Crystalline in confusion. Dusk Shine trotted through the archway and went through the living room and to the hall way perpendicular to it, the opposite direction from the front door. When she was sure they were out of earshot, Dusk Shine immediately turned around to face the dragon angrily. "What are you doing?" she scolded quietly.

"What? A random Equestrian comes along and you ask me what _I'm_ doing? What the heck!"

"She's been on her own for who knows how long! She hasn't eaten in at least a week. What was I supposed to do?"

"Tell her to come back later? If she's looking for Sapphire, why would you take care of her?"

"Why wouldn't I? Do you know her?"

"No."

"Then why do you seem against her? What has she done to you?"

"Nothing but – oh, it doesn't matter! I just don't like that you are so willing to take care of some random filly that knocks on our door!"

"Moonlight Sparkle is a well-mannered, lonely, kind little filly. I will do what I see fit. Now that she's eaten and happy, I'm going to go take her to see Sapphire. Any objections?"

Faith crossed her arms angrily and pouted as she mumbled her reply. "No..."

Dusk Shine raised her head from Faith's level to her full height, and nodded. "All right then. Are you coming or are you staying?"

Faith sighed, letting her arms droop to her sides. "I'll come along, I guess. I just don't trust her."

"Why not?"

"I don't fancy strangers since that one guard led us to a trap with Discord. Call me paranoid, but I think we should be more careful from now on."

"Fine. But Moonlight is perfectly all right. I'll be careful from now on, but I trust her. Now, come on, we're leaving as soon as she's ready."


	11. Moonlight Sparkle

-Chapter XI- Moonlight Sparkle

-Canterlot, Equestria

-12th of May, 1008 A.D.

-1:30 P.M.

-Sapphire

I was drawing out the ideas for the portal when I heard a voice, distant, at first, and very familiar calling out to me. I stared at the entrance to the workshop in horror, expecting the garage door to fly open to reveal my pursuer, but it remained the way it was. "Sapphire?" I snapped my gaze back to Starswirl as soon as he spoke. "Are you all right?"

I nodded reluctantly. "Yeah, I thought I just heard someone call my name." I looked back at the door.

Starswirl grunted in response as he used the pencil to erase a small detail, and turn it around with his magic before writing something else on the parchment. My mind was whirling, thinking of all the worst-case scenarios once again, just as I always did before I left for Canterlot. The anxiety came rushing again through my mind. _How'd she get here? Is she after me? What does she want with me?_ "Sapphire!" I jumped in surprise at Starswirl's call, causing a second pencil place precariously on the ledge of the table to fly up into the air and over the catwalk's rail, landing onto the hard ground with a hollow _thud_. "Dusk Shine is calling for you," he explained as he picked the pencil up without looking away from his work, it coming back up to where we were enveloped in his magic.

"Uh..." My thoughts were still clouded. "Yeah," I answered blankly, beginning to head down the catwalk's metal steps and down to the ground level.

"Sapphire? You there?" I heard Dusk Shine call from the other side of the large door. I looked around in the corner of the building for the small button that the Doctor always used to open the entrance, and once I found the large black button, I pushed it to reveal Dusk Shine with Faith on her back and...

"Who's this?" I asked, looking down at the small filly.

Faith seemed to pout as Dusk Shine and the young unicorn exchanged glances. The guest seemed cautious, or perhaps just shy. "Go on," Dusk Shine urged in a comforting voice.

Taking a step forward, the filly took a deep breath, waiting for a second before beginning, as if finding the right words to speak. I smiled patiently at her. "Let's start with your name," I suggested.

She nodded in understanding. "I am Moonlight Sparkle of Cloudsdale."

This I was taken aback by. "Cloudsdale?" Dusk Shine and I asked simultaneously in shock.

"Um, are you sure you're from Cloudsdale?" I asked, looking at her with confusion. She could be, she was a unicorn.

She nodded sadly. "I was there when Discord attacked about a month ago," she explained, looking down at her hooves nervously. "When he turned all of Cloudsdale upside-down and took all of our wings away."

"I thought that was reversed when Sapphire and I defeated Discord?" Dusk Shine seemed just as confused as I was. Apparently, she didn't know as much about this Moonlight Sparkle as she felt.

"For the most part, but..." she trailed away, as if looking for the right words again. "I guess when he attacked, he must've taken pity on me, because he gave me a horn to replace my wings, but after he was defeated, all of my friends and family were returned to normal..."

"Except you..." I finished quietly, hardly in a whisper so that it seemed I was talking to myself. "Oh my goodness..."

Her eyes lit up with hope, "I came here, because my family believed I was under Discord's influence, so they made me leave Cloudsdale. When I found out it was you that defeated Discord, I hoped that you could at least teach me how to use my magic."

I looked up to Dusk Shine, seeing my own nervousness mixed with pity reflected in her gaze. "I...I don't know. I mean, I'm still Princess Celestia's student, but-"

"I don't want to master it or anything, I just want to know the basics," Moonlight pleaded.

I opened my mouth to respond, but no words came out. _How could you teach her?_

 _I could..._

 _You can't take care of some random filly that just comes out of nowhere, looking for handouts!_

 _What am I supposed to do? I can't just leave her...I can't say no. She doesn't even have a family._

 _That's not your problem! You should focus on that portal with Starswirl, rather than the pathetic pleas of some squalid filly!_

I looked down at the filly, seeing a gaze of hope, confusion, and exhaustion staring back up at me. "Sapphire?" I looked to Dusk Shine. "Did you hear her?"

"Yeah, I did," I told the pair of unicorns, shaking my head in embarrassment at the realization that I was fighting with my own thoughts. "I'm thinking of what I should do."

 _What use could she possibly serve?_

I examined the sorry Equestrian, looking over her dark-blue eyes, clouded with exhaustion, her sunken in belly and her underdeveloped frame. I sighed. I couldn't just leave her, even if I wanted to. "Come on," I told her. I craned my neck around to stick my head back into Doctor Whooves' workshop and looked up to where Starswirl stood, still bent over his work. "Hey, Starswirl?"

"Go on ahead, Sapphire, I've got everything here," he called, flashing me a smile from the worktable.

"Thanks, Starswirl." I turned back to Dusk Shine, Faith, and Moonlight. Faith seemed shocked by my response, and looked at me in a mixture of horror and anger. "Come on, Moonlight, let's get you settled in. If you haven't got anywhere else to stay, you'll be staying with us."

Her eyes lit up. "R-really?!" she asked joyously.

I gestured her to follow as I began to trot away from the garage and back to the house. Dusk Shine caught up to me quickly, Faith still on her back. "Are we really going to let her stay at our house?" My friend asked quietly.

I nodded, "If she doesn't have a family to look after her, especially with her being so young, then we'll take care of her."

"You're kidding, right?" Faith suddenly asked harshly.

"What? What do you mean, Faith?" I asked, shocked by her rudeness.

"She's just some random stranger and you're promising to be her big sister!" she objected.

"Faith, she hasn't got anyone else, if she's looking for someone to teach her magic, then she'll get a teacher and anything else she needs, and that includes a family."

The dragon opened her mouth to continue, but clearly she thought better of it and only looked away, avoiding my stern gaze. I slowed down to allow Moonlight to catch up, and we traveled side-by-side back to the house.


End file.
